"Child Seat" for Babies & Kids

This is a discussion on "Child Seat" for Babies & Kids within Drive Safe, part of the Road Safety category; Dear All,
I need all of your help in deciding a booster car seat for my 5 year old daughter. ...

I need all of your help in deciding a booster car seat for my 5 year old daughter. Currently she is using Britax FIRST CLASS plus. However, she has outgrown herself for the seat and hence, feels a little uncomfortable in it.

I have a very positive feedback about Britax and would have straight away bought a booster seat from the same brand. However, I am not getting any, sitting in India - neither online nor from shops.

The brand options I am getting online (Amazon has the best choices) are Graco (1 model), Evenflo (2-3 models) and some others (Cosco, etc.)

I have personally checked Graco model - Junior Maxi Booster Car Seat, Lyon (Red/Black). Looks OK but the seat fabric has kind of synthetic finish to it. Also, the seat and back rest is kind of firm and hard. Not sure if these are the problems with every other booster seat.

Evenflo - I do not have any feedback about the brand and the quality of the booster seats they offer.
1. Evenflo Big Kid AMP Booster Car Seat Sprocket
2. Evenflo AMP High Back Car Seat Booster Pink Angles

Evenflo - I do not have any feedback about the brand and the quality of the booster seats they offer.
1. Evenflo Big Kid AMP Booster Car Seat Sprocket
2. Evenflo AMP High Back Car Seat Booster Pink Angles

I've been using Evenflo Sureride Dlx Convertible Car Seat
Kids is quite happy with it. But wife feels that it lacks side support compared to the previous seat. She says the head tends to droop sideways while sleeping. I think its due the fact that this seat is more upright compared to the previous seat.
By the way this seat supports ISO fix, so created a hook (my Swift VDI does not support ISO/LATCH) so that you can secure it in a better way.

Why is he trying to writhe free of his shoulder strap? Is it fastened in a way causing him discomfort? Or is he just trying out something new he learnt!? Try to keep him occupied with toys/picture books maybe..?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bblost

I also feel that the strap is not adequately tight. Are all straps secure and with just enough room to maybe wriggle in a finger or two?

I used to tight the belt till I hear 2 clicks, now I am tightening till 3 clicks. He slides his hand out (left hand) within few minutes. I will check the belt and routing to see if there is any issue. Now we try to keep him occupied by playing movie/video in mobile.

Dear All,
I have a very positive feedback about Britax and would have straight away bought a booster seat from the same brand. However, I am not getting any, sitting in India - neither online nor from shops.

You are spot on about Britax, I have been using Britax ecplise for my 1 and a half year old. Also used the same earlier for the elder one who is 5 now. The seat is really sturdy and confidence inspiring. The only thing I miss in the Britax Eclipse is the top tether. Anyway, when I was looking for a booster seat for the elder one no Britax/Maxi cozi bootser seats were available either in India.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayukh

Or are they any further options?

So, after a lot of searching and reading reviews, for my 5 year old daughter I finally decided on the following car seat:

I had to order it to India, so was charged for postage as well as import fees, all in all it came down to 28K INR, but the product is worth the money. It is really easy to install in my Jetta as it has isofix connectors, is very comfortable and is also highly rated for safety, so ticks all the boxes.

Found a new website which lists major child seat brand products(price in Rupees). They send it from Europe to India directly and they take care of Customs as well. Good thing is that the price is inclusive of shipping and customs, and price is much cheaper than even ShoppersStop or Amazon India. Have not purchased anything from this site, but if it is a genuine site, then this is the first online portal for child seats I have seen with so many options, which can deliver in India at decent price. IsoFix was something I missed in India while buying a car seat in the past. They have it covered as well.

I am in the market for car seat for my son who is 3.3 years old and weighing around 13 kgs. I intend to use the seat for next ~6 years or so i.e. till he reaches around ~30 kgs, and ideal choice would be booster seats.

Going through the previous posts on this thread and some research online, best bet would be Britax car seats. But since they are not easily available in India, next best bet would be from Graco/Evenflo/Chicco.

Above are the options i have come across, which fits my budget. So what are all things I should consider before finalizing the model? It is so confusing because similar seats/features are available in wide price range.

I am in the market for car seat for my son who is 3.3 years old and weighing around 13 kgs. I intend to use the seat for next ~6 years or so i.e. till he reaches around ~30 kgs, and ideal choice would be booster seats.

Going through the previous posts on this thread and some research online, best bet would be Britax car seats. But since they are not easily available in India, next best bet would be from Graco/Evenflo/Chicco.

Above are the options i have come across, which fits my budget. So what are all things I should consider before finalizing the model? It is so confusing because similar seats/features are available in wide price range.

I bought the Chicco Gro Up seat about 3-4 months back at Flipkart for around 13k and pretty happy with it till now. My kid also is comfortable in the seat. The only negative would probably be the fact that the recline angle is not very high.

Need some assistance friends!!! I am returning back to India next month and currently scouting for a good car seat(forward facing only) for my 2 year old daughter. I searched and found that the seat width of economy class in airplane is 17 inch while most of the car seats are wider than than 17 inch ranging from 18.5 inch to 22 inch. I don't intend to be in a situation wherein the car seat is not getting installed on airplane and I have to compromise on my kiddo's security. I am sure this should be a day to day situation since flight seats are getting narrower to accommodate more passengers. I will probably adjust if the car seat gets installed properly and I have to give additional space from adjacent seat. And any suggestions for a good car seat are also welcome- Right now I am looking at Graco Nautilus 65LX or Argos 80. Please advise!!!

Need some assistance friends!!! I am returning back to India next month and currently scouting for a good car seat(forward facing only) for my 2 year old daughter. I searched and found that the seat width of economy class in airplane is 17 inch while most of the car seats are wider than than 17 inch ranging from 18.5 inch to 22 inch. I don't intend to be in a situation wherein the car seat is not getting installed on airplane and I have to compromise on my kiddo's security. I am sure this should be a day to day situation since flight seats are getting narrower to accommodate more passengers. I will probably adjust if the car seat gets installed properly and I have to give additional space from adjacent seat. And any suggestions for a good car seat are also welcome- Right now I am looking at Graco Nautilus 65LX or Argos 80. Please advise!!!

Bro,

Hate to say this - in a flight, it DOES NOT matter. If a plane will crash, everyone dies in most cases. The dynamics and survivability of car and aeroplane crashes is totally different.

We also went through a similar thought process when traveling overseas with our son (at 1.25 years, Emirates refused to give him the bassinet saying he was too tall) and eventually made peace with the fact that car seats don't really make sense in an aero plane.

If you want to buy something to use in India, please do so by all means. Both of your choices are competent enough.

Hate to say this - in a flight, it DOES NOT matter. If a plane will crash, everyone dies in most cases. The dynamics and survivability of car and aeroplane crashes is totally different.

We also went through a similar thought process when traveling overseas with our son (at 1.25 years, Emirates refused to give him the bassinet saying he was too tall) and eventually made peace with the fact that car seats don't really make sense in an aero plane.

If you want to buy something to use in India, please do so by all means. Both of your choices are competent enough.

Agreed on the first part- Crash!!! I will say a little prayer before boarding the flight.

There are 3 points why I am considering a car seat:
1. My doll is very young. She will turn 2 this November and my wife had harrowing experience carrying her in lap in 16 hour flight. Worst part, there was too much turbulence in the flight and the baby slipped out of her lap couple of times and hung around with lap belt. All this led to my baby getting rashes around her thighs. If she is snug in a car seat during return journey, I am all for it.
2. My baby has made peace with car seat and now recognizes her seat. I hope she will behave better in a car seat compared to being belted in the plane seat. Needless to say, I just hope so!!! The seat that I am using currently is going to expire and I am hunting for a new car seat so that she can adjust to the new seat before we fly back.
3. Like many on the forum, I did not know about the safety cushion a car seat provides. Now that I know about it, I will be foolish to ignore it. The difference between cost of car seat in US and India belittles the difference between dollar and rupee!!!

Worst case scenario, I will get the car seat in "check-in" if not in cabin. But the basic question still remains, does a wider car seat install on a narrower plane-seat?

Does a square peg fit into a round hole & therein lies the answer to your query.

Having said that premium economy and business class seats will be able to meet the criteria but then it is like "char anne ki murgee & 1 rupaye ka masala.

What you can search for is a car seat which has a built in and detachable carrying cradle but for 2 year olds, obviously. These are generally for infants but then in the US there are choices of all sorts.

Else you may look around for a suitable booster, again meant to be used at a later age but again given the choices you may be able to find one that fits in the plane seat and can be used later on in your car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by headbanger

Worst case scenario, I will get the car seat in "check-in" if not in cabin. But the basic question still remains, does a wider car seat install on a narrower plane-seat?

Agreed on the first part- Crash!!! I will say a little prayer before boarding the flight.

There are 3 points why I am considering a car seat:
1. My doll is very young. She will turn 2 this November and my wife had harrowing experience carrying her in lap in 16 hour flight. Worst part, there was too much turbulence in the flight and the baby slipped out of her lap couple of times and hung around with lap belt. All this led to my baby getting rashes around her thighs. If she is snug in a car seat during return journey, I am all for it.
2. My baby has made peace with car seat and now recognizes her seat. I hope she will behave better in a car seat compared to being belted in the plane seat. Needless to say, I just hope so!!! The seat that I am using currently is going to expire and I am hunting for a new car seat so that she can adjust to the new seat before we fly back.
3. Like many on the forum, I did not know about the safety cushion a car seat provides. Now that I know about it, I will be foolish to ignore it. The difference between cost of car seat in US and India belittles the difference between dollar and rupee!!!

Worst case scenario, I will get the car seat in "check-in" if not in cabin. But the basic question still remains, does a wider car seat install on a narrower plane-seat?

Found a new website which lists major child seat brand products(price in Rupees). They send it from Europe to India directly and they take care of Customs as well. Good thing is that the price is inclusive of shipping and customs, and price is much cheaper than even ShoppersStop or Amazon India. Have not purchased anything from this site, but if it is a genuine site, then this is the first online portal for child seats I have seen with so many options, which can deliver in India at decent price. IsoFix was something I missed in India while buying a car seat in the past. They have it covered as well.

Great find. In an over priced market, I think this site has at least some reasonable options. The Government should make importing these items duty free since it is a about safety of kids and plus there are no local manufacturers here.